Thread-splicing machine



June 26, 1923. 1,459,875

A. A. BRIGHAM THREAD SPLICING MACHINE Filed April 15. 1922 Patented June26, 1923.

ARTHUR A. BRIGHAM, or nos'ron, MAssAoHUsn'rrs.

THREAD-SPLICING MACHINE.

App1icatibnfi1ed April 15, 1922 Serial No. 552,915

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR A. BRIGHAM,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the County ofSuffolk and State of Massachuetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Thread-Splicing Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to thread splicing machines, more especiallymachines of the character disclosed in my Patent No. 1,239,560 datedSeptember 11, 1917.

It is the chief object of the invention to tory to associating them inthe making of the splice.

The natureof the invention will be readily understood from the followingdescription when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, andthe novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims.

Tnthe drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine shown in my prior patent, abovedesignated,

but modified in accordance with the pres ent invention Fig.2 is aperspective view of the lefthand'twister head of the machine shown inFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross sectional view through a portion of thestrand holding device; and

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view through one end of a twister head.

For a complete description of the con-- struction and operation of themachine shown in the drawings, reference should be made to my priorpatent, above designated. It issufiicient for the present purposes todescribe the general organization of this machine very briefiy. Themachine comprises two twister heads, designated at A and B,respectively, both mounted on a base plate 2, substantially in alinementwith each other.

The cops'or spools holdingthe two lengths of threadto be splicedtogether are sup ported on pins 4 and 5, mounted, respectively, inbrackets 6 and 7, each carried by a pair of rods which are slidablymounted in the lower part of the base 2 so that the brackets can beadjusted toward and from the base. The threads'unwound from these spoolsare designatedat a and 7), respectively.

Each twister head comprises a' shaft 10, Figs. 2' and 1, having a threadreceiving slot or groove 11 formed longitudinally therein of a depth toextend substantially to the axis of rotation of the shaft. The shaft issupport'edin spaced bearings 1212,

preferably formed integral with the bearing frame 1 3 which is securedto the base 2. Mounted faston the shaft 10 is a barrel pinionl l'havinga longitudinal slot 15 there in to register with the slot 11, the twoparts 50 and 14' forming,in effect, a unitary strucure;

11 and 15. A gear 16, which also constitutes a hand-wheel, meshes withthe barrel pinion 14 and is mounted on a threaded shaft 17, the oppositeends: of which are The bearing brackets 12l2 are slotted to registerwith the slots 01' grooves" pinned to brackets secured to the bearing"frame 13 This shaft carries check nutsor some equivalent means foradjust-ably limiting the axial travel of thegear 16 on the shaft 17, sothat 'the twister head may be given'a predetermined number of revolutions and-then stopped automatically with the slots 14 and'15registering with the slots in thebra'cket 12.

For the purpose of holding the thread securely and at the same timeavoiding possibility of injuring even a thread, the twister head isprovided with two thread holding devices 20 and 21, one mounted at eachend thereof. The thread holder 20 comprises a bracket 22, Fig. 4;

which is pinned to the end of theshaft 10 and has a flat face flush withone wall of the slot 11. A plate 23 is set into this face and anotherplate or disk 24' is pressed lightly against it by a coiled spring 25backed up by a nut 26 which is threaded on a post 2? projectingcentrally through both the disks 23 and 24 and secured in the bracket22. The other thread holding device 21 is a duplicate of that shown inFig. 4c.

In beginningthethread splicing opera tion, the thread a is led'betweenthe disks'or plates of -the thread holding device 21,

any delicate at and b, the check nuts being set properly to stop therotation of the wheels, and consequently of the twister heads, when thetwist has been completely taken out of the two lengths of thread betweensaid heads and their respective slips 8 and 9. While this operation isbeing performed the twist runs back into the lengths of threads betweenthe twister heads and the spools. The provision of a thread holdingdevice at bothends of each twister head is of advantage in controllingthe thread accurately and preventtions of the two springs.

ing its working out of the thread receiving slots where it might becaught and cut off. Furthermore, the frictional type of thread holdingdevice shown is well adapted to handle either fine or coarse threads,holding either kind securely and avoiding any possibility of injury toit.

After the threads have been untwisted, as just described, each thread isseparated into its individual strands. The present invention provides animproved device for holding these separated strands. This devicecomprises a tube 30 supported horizontally in front of, and between, thetwister heads by means of rods 3l31, the front ends of which are securedin the tube while the rear ends are mounted in brackets supported underthe base 2. Within the tube 30 are two spiral springs 32 and 33,respectively, wound in opposite directions, the tube being partially cutaway near opposite ends thereof, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, to exposepor- The adjacent ends of the springs are secured fast to the tube byscrews 34 and 35, respectively. Referring to'Figa3 it will be seen thatthe screw 34 passes through the eye of a screweye 36, the shank of whichis threaded into a disk or plug 37- having pins projecting from itsperiphery and entered between adjacent coils at the right-hand end ofthe spring 32. The corresponding end of the other spring 33 is similarlysecured to the tube. The opposite end of the spring 32 is anchored inanother plug 38 like the part 37, and a thumb screw 39, threaded axiallythrough this plug, projects through the closed end of the tube andaffords a convenient means'for adjusting the spring longitudinally. Theother spring 33 is provided with a similar adjusting means, theadjusting screw therefor being designated at 40 in Fig. 1. This figurealso shows the three strands b of thethread 6 ingly mounted plate 42,which is positioned between the twister heads, and the twister heads arethen operated in the reverse direction to that in which they wereformerly rotated, 'thus twisting together the spliced strands asexplained in detail in my prior patent.

The use of springs 32 and 33 instead of a single spring affords a moreconvenient and natural angle for the reception of the strands leadingfrom the two twister heads. It is contemplated, however, that a singlespring could be used in place of the two springs shown. It will also beappreciated that the illustrated embodiment of the invention may bemodified in other particulars without departing from the spirit or scopeof the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim as new is:

1. In a thread splicing machine, the combination of two opposed twisterheads mounted substantially in alinement with eachothen each constructedto hold a thread and each rotatable in opposite directions to twist orthe right-and'left-hand wound untwist a thread, and a spiral springmounted in front of said heads to hold the indi- I vidual strands ofuntwisted thread.

2. In a thread splicing machine, the combination of two opposed twisterheads mounted substantially in alinement with each other, eachconstructed to hold a thread N v and each rotatable in oppositedirections to twist or untwist a thread, a spiral spring mounted infront of said heads to holdthe individual strands of untwisted thread,and

means for adjusting said spring longitudinally to vary the grip exertedby adjacent coils thereof on athread laced between.

them.

3. In a thread splicing machine, the combination of two opposed twisterheads mounted substantially in alinement with each other, eachconstructed to holda thread and each rotatable in opposite directions totwist or untwist a thread, and. means in front of said heads for holdingthe strands of untwisted thread, said means comprising a tube, a springinsaid tube, a portion of said tube being cut away to exposea part ofthe spring, and means for adjusting said spring longitudinally. v

4:. In a thread splicing machine, the combination of two opposed twisterheads mounted substantially in alinement with each other, eachconstructed to hold a thread and each rotatable in opposite directionsto twist or untwist a thread, and means in front of said heads forholding the strands of untwisted thread, said means including a tubemounted substantially parallel to the axes of said twister heads, twospiral springs mounted in said tube and having their adjacent endsanchored therein, said tube being partially cut away to expose portionsof said springs, and screws connected with the opposite ends of thesprings to adjust the springs longitudinally.

5. In a thread splicing machine, the com bination of two opposed twisterheads, each grooved longitudinally to receive a thread, means rotatablysupporting said heads and thread clamping devices mounted at theopposite ends of each head, the thread clamping devices at the ends ofsaid heads adjacent to each other each consisting of a plate rotatingwith the head, a disk bearing against said plate, a post fixed in thehead and projecting through said disk and on which the disk is movabletoward and from the plate, and a spring pressing said disk against saidplate.

ARTHUR A, BRIGHAM.

